Stu1smartcookie

Hi Marc , i am hopefully giving the Mak its first light tonight , although we have a hundred mile round trip and a chinese buffet to negotiate first , so i wont be home until after 8 ... who knows what the sky will be like then lol ... message to everyone , leave a bit of clear sky for me pleeeeease ... report to come on both the Mak and the 152 Starwave

So the postman has been busy again ( got to get in before the next strike ) Actually it was the DPD man who made me wait right until the end of the working day before delivering an ADM clamp for my skytee 2 and a nice little Bresser 127 Mak which I have been busy upgrading with a 2"baader clicklock and a decent red dot finder of course the obligatory clouds were present in the box zzzzz

seems like you are losing your head in one of those photos Magnus

So like others I have been conscripted to a restaurant where I have spent precious astro money on , admittedly, a decent meal .. I was desperate to get the new scope (starwave 6" ) out but as we know , rushing stuff isn't advisable in this hobby so I contented myself with just a quick peek . Almost stumbled on the Beehive which looked fantastic , a couple of bright stars did show a bit of CA but it's expected . Can't wait to see how it fares with globs. As with all purchases it looks like clouds are guaranteed for the next few nights zzzz I need to upgrade the saddles on the skytee as although it held the scope , I am a bit nervous with the stock saddles . . Can anyone tell me if there is a knack in removing the slow motion knobs , after removing the grub screws they still feel like they are welded !!!! Looking forward to a proper nights viewing .

So , let’s see what arrived this morning ! DHL , thank you ! Altair Astro , many many thanks for your help . A bit of a beast but a beauty at the same time 152 mm Starwave … and a small bag of Haribo … a lovely sweetener .

Nice report , Lee …. I’ve been clouded out all weekend zzzz . The ST80 is a great little scope isn’t it . I rate all the ST “gang” … really great value . Stu

So. , trip to Widescreen Centre , and a delivery from Altair Astro ( although a few niggles to sort out ) has got me a new scope and mount . A 6” Classical Cassegrain and a skytee 2 mount ! Of course the skies are cloudy … and I think the scope has arrived slightly out of collimation , plus I am waiting to hear back from Altair regarding a rather annoying dust spot on the primary and some rather rough areas around the edge of the mirror . But all things being equal it will hopefully have 1st light tomorrow evening . 🙏 EDIT ** Altair Astro , take a bow ... after emailing yesterday , Ian from Altair emailed back , great service ... and on a sunday too . In the end and from a discussion this morning Altair are taking the scope back and replacing it with another ... although if i can add , watch this space for what turns up . In an era when companies very often do not care about customer satisfaction and service , i have to say Altair Astro have addressed a problem and rectified it , no arguments , no issues , just good old helpfulness and positive action . 2nd EDIT** So , New scope arrived , 6" CC , will be returned today .

Nice , Lee …. Glad you have clear skies too… very cloudy in Cambridgeshire… which is my fault .. details soon .

So , despite the advice I have gone with a skytee 2 … as I indicated I am very much visual only and like the idea of having 2 scopes on show . But , watch this space … the Dwarf Labs 2 scope is due out soon .

I would t be allowed home if I spent there 😂

Yes I agree , and it makes perfect sense as the 6”cc ‘s forte is planetary .

Many thanks and to be honest my thoughts really , I kind of want the skytee as it’s a really solid piece of kit but as you write the EQ5 with motors , NOT goto, is probably the best choice overall .. I must add though , weight is an issue as I am trying to keep things as practical and light as possible ( not easy with the scopes I have as they demand stability and that usually means weight ) , the EQ5 is fairly manageable as I remember .

So I have just purchased a 6” classical cassegrain (6kg) ,( lovely scope) and I have my ED80(5kg) but I do not have a mount for them . I am 90% visual so generally speaking tracking isn’t required. What mount do I get ? Now I am not a newcomer here but the choice , although restrained a bit by finances , makes it difficult to decide . My options EQ5 , manual ( which can be upgraded) Skytee 2 , with steel tripod Az-GTix the new dual saddled mount from SW ( yes I know the two scopes weigh around 11kgs) but it can be used with just one scope . The trusty AZ4 ! An EQ3-2 goto , lightweight, convenience of goto bit just about on the limits for weight . Also the way those mounts “scream” when moving in the dead of night may be a problem as our neighbour has two small kids . anyway , thoughts please on the above much appreciated kind regards Stu

Ok so I took your advice ! 1 Ed80 2 6” class cass 3 8” dob not quite mirrored your three but , hey , they all “work” 😂

There is something very satisfying just putting a scope an a mount and relaxing ,taking in the views

HAPPY CHRISTMAS , Jeremy

So , the 8”Dob was out nice and early … I had a glance at Orion and then found the comet … took a crude but nonetheless decent shot of it with the phone hovering over my 30mm EP

Hi Greg , welcome to SGL

The Google phones currently exel in night time photography although Samsung are catching up ... alas the iphone seems to be a bit behind . i run with a sony 1 iv which basically is a dslr in a phone but the google spits all over it . In fact the google phones have been great at this since series 5 was released . Amazing what software can do .

Hi , Tezz , Welcome to the hobby . And congratulations on your purchase . Everyone has their own opinions but i'm sure we all wish you well with your chosen scope. It seems like you have a clear objective . One thing is certain , you will not be short of friendly and invaluable advice . Clear Skies

Hi James , i briefly owned one but didnt get into astrophotography at that point , what i can say is the construction of the scope was very solid and they get a good reputation for widefield photography . I believe there was a very favourable review in "Sky At Night " magazine . Stu

A couple of “almost “ essential accessories from FLO . I feel I have shares in Bobs Knobs lol and a collimation cap .

Hi Billy i second what Doug has written ... i viewed Mars last night with an 8" dobsonian and only just made out some surface shading ... The planet is fading in magnitude quite quickly now and, even at its best , visually, it can be a let down . In fact Mars is a planet that you have to view for quite sometime before it gives you too much in return . Don't be too hard on yourself or the equipment .. it really is difficult to observe . Stu

An unexpected clear spell last night meant a quick set up of the Dob , just to give my 10mm and 6mm Ortho EPs a first go . Not ideal in a way as the scope was not sufficiently cooled but , the moon was rapidly disapearing over the roof so i had to take the opportunity . Spoiler alert , these EPs are fantastic . Clarity was exceptional when viewing the moon , i focused on the Apeninne region , starting with the 10mm . I was a bit concerned that the admittedly tight eye relief would prove to be an issue but , i need not have worried . No black spots when viewing just a lovely bright image , i switched to the 6mm , and the image was slightly softer as the scope hadnt properly cooled , but once again there was no problems regarding brightness . A quick switch to Mars which showed subtle shading , but in truth , the conditions were not condusive ... i really needed to put the Dob out 30minutes earlier. ( lesson to be learnt ) . A quick view of Orion , but using a 26mm EP showed the normal nebulosity and the trapezium . I then left the scope for around 30minutes before attempting to find the Comet . After a frustrating 15minutes or so searching in the right area i managed to locate it in the 8x50 finder . It was quite near a star (optically) and showed a fairly bright nucleus with a surround of gas , It was a great sight and one that makes this hobby really worthwhile . One thing i did notice was how quickly the comet is moving . From its starting distance from the star in the EP it had moved considerably . Clouds rolled in from the North West ending the fairly short but worthwhile session . In conclusion , i need to buy the 18mm Baader ortho , as per @Franklin sugestion . And its going to be clear tonight too ! One image I took with the phone of the comet

lol ok , … for one day only